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PRE-SERVICE EDUCATORS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
Andile Mdikana,
Sibusiso Ntshangase
and
Tokozile Mayekiso
University of the Witwatersrand
The inclusion of learners with special educational needs in general education is
becoming more prevalent. As a result various special education researchers have
begun to examine the success of inclusion, as well as the attitudes and beliefs of
general educators towards the inclusion of learners with disabilities in the general
education classroom. In the present study, preservice educators’ attitudes towards
inclusive education were investigated. The participants are full time students of the
University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. These students are registered
for the Post Graduate Certificate in Education, B.Phys.ed) and B.A (Ed) and they
are all in their final year of study. The students are mainly English-speaking. The
sample comprises of 22 students seven males and fifteen females. Convenient
sampling design was employed. A questionnaire developed by Choles (1997) was
adapted and was used as a measuring instrument to record the responses of the
research respondents. The adapted questionnaire comprised of the following
sections: Biographical details, Attitudes towards inclusive education,
Requirements for competency, Requirements for successful inclusion and Attitudes
towards learners with Special Needs. Data were analyzed using descriptive
statistics. The research participants were generally found to have positive
attitudes toward inclusive education. The results of this investigation are
significant in the sense that the understanding of pre-service educators’ attitudes
is critical for the successful implementation of inclusive education (Mowes, 2000;
Elloker, 1999; Gadium, 2002; Dover, 2002; & Mckeskey & Waldrom, 2002).
The inclusion of learners with special educational needs in general education is becoming more
prevalent (Crawford, Almond, and Tindal & Hollenbeck: 2002). As a result various special education
researchers have began to examine the success of inclusion, as well as the attitudes and beliefs of
general educators towards the inclusion of learners with disabilities in the general education classroom
(Ivey & Reincke, 2002; Avrandis, 2001; Van Reusen, Shosho & Barker, 2000; Choles, 2000; Gordon,
2000; Kgare, 2000; Bothna, 1998; Van Staden, 2001; Hyan, 2001; Makunga, 2002; Siebalak, 2002).
South Africa has begun a process designed to transform its education system from an exclusive
education system to an inclusive education system as demonstrated by the Education White Paper 6
(2001). According to Naicker (2002), the South African national ministry of education system is
committed to shift to an inclusive education. demonstrates this commitment in particular. White paper
6 articulates strategies for developing new knowledge, a new paradigm, and new strategies in the
movement towards inclusion. Educational reform in the dispensation has inspired commitment to a
single, inclusive education for all (Education White Paper 6 (2001).
The South African authorities have taken the initiative in terms of applying the recommendation of the
Salamanca Framework for Action (UNESCO, 1994). According to this framework inclusive schools
must recognize and respond to the diverse needs of their learners, accommodating all learners,
regardless of any difficulties of learning differences. The introduction of White Paper 6 (2006) is a
good example of the government’s commitment towards inclusive education.
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It is worth mentioning that special education researchers such as Julie and Ivey (2002:2) acknowledge
that policy dealing with inclusion has had a major effect on how children with special educational
needs are accommodated, but they also contend that a lot of work needs to be done in terms of
understanding and transforming the attitudes of educator’s towards inclusion. They maintain that
attitudes cannot be legislated. The attitudes of teachers are critical for the successful implementation of
inclusive education (Mowes, 2000; Elloker, 1999; Gadium, 2002; Dover, 2002; & Mckeskey &
Waldrom, 2002).
Choles (1997) also argues that the success of facilitating inclusive education lies in the pivotal role of
educators. The implication of his argument is that a transformed education system needs to actively
involve educators and their concerns. If inclusion is to be successful, teachers’ attitudes are one of the
most important factors to consider (Baker & Gottlieb, 1980)
The studies by Davies and Green, 1999; Gordon, 2000, Dada and Alant, 2002; Van Reusen, Shosho &
Barker, 2000; Agran, Snow and Swaner, 1999, indicated that teachers are positive towards inclusive
education. A study by Downing (1997) identified both agreement and some differences in perception of
inclusive education across professional role and level of implementation.
Educator’s attitudes towards inclusive education
Although the movement for inclusive education is part of a broad human rights agenda, many educators
have serious reservations about supporting the widespread placement of pupils with special educational
needs (Florien, 1998). Bowman (1986), in her fourteen nation UNSESCO study of approximately 1000
teachers’ with experience of teaching children with special educational needs, reported a wide range of
difference in teacher opinions regarding integration. The countries surveyed were Egypt, Jordan,
Columbia, and |Mexico, Venezuela, Botswana, Senegal, Zambia, Australia, Thailand, Czechoslovakia,
Italy, Norway and Portugal. The teachers were found to favour different types of children for
integration into ordinary classes.
Although educator responses varied in terms of their educational systems in general and of special
education in particular, there was a general hierarchy of conditions that were regarded as possible for
inclusion. Severely intellectually challenged were all considered least favourably, while medical and
physical conditions were seen as most easy to manage. Overall, about a quarter of teachers felt that
children with sensory impairments could be taught in mainstream classes, while 10 percent held this
view for children with severe intellectual challenges and multiple challenges.
Interestingly, Bowman noted that in countries, which had a law requiring, inclusion, educators
expressed more favorable views (ranging from 47 to 93 per cent). Teachers from countries which
offered the most segregated educational provision were less supportive to integration (ranging from 0
to 28 per cent.
Leyser, Kapperman and Keller (1994) undertook a cross-cultural a cross study of teacher attitudes
towards inclusion or integration in the United States, Germany, Israel, Ghana, Taiwan and the
Philippines. Their findings showed that there were differences in attitude to inclusion between these
countries. Teachers in the United States and in Germany had the most positive attitudes. Positive
attitudes in the United States were attributed to inclusion being widely practiced there as a result of
Public Law 94-1423. Teachers in Germany exhibited positive attitudes to inclusion, though at the time
of the study, Germany had no special education legislation, their teachers were not provided with
special education training, their children eighth special educational needs were educated in segregated
settings, and integration was being practiced only on an experimental basis.
Teacher attitudes were less positive in Ghana, the Philippines, Israel and Taiwan. The authors reasoned
that this could probably be due to limited or non existent training for teachers to acquire integration
competencies. Also, there were very few opportunities for integration in these countries.
Other attitude studies have suggested that general educators have not developed an empathetic
understanding of disabling conditions (Berryman, 1989; Horne & Barton, 1992; Hayes & Gunn, 1988).
Center and Ward’s (1987) study with regular teachers indicated that their attitudes to integration
reflected lack of confidence both in their own instructional skills or management skills on the part of
the teacher. Thomas ( 1985) in a comparative study in Devon, England and Arizona, USA, found the
balance of opinion was against the integration of children with intellectual difficulties (they moderate
learning difficulties) in England and the educable mentally retarded (EMR) in the USA. Also in this
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study attitudes were more positive towards integration when the contact special educator also held
positive attitudes towards integration.
The above studies suggest that teachers, who are the prime targets of implementation of the policy, are
often not prepared to meet the needs of students with significant difficulties and are more reluctant than
administrators and policy makers
However, a study by Heller (1988) supported a wider positive view of integration by those in the front
line-mainstream teachers. Hellier investigated six primary schools in the Tayside region of Scotland
were children with severe learning difficulties were being integrated. The results revealed that these
teachers who had direct experience of integration held exceptionally positive attitudes towards it.
Similarly, a study by Shimman (1990) which investigated the attitudes of 126 British further education
college staff demonstrated that the overwhelming majority of the staff saw the presence of students
with learning difficulties in their college as a positive development, both for the students themselves
and for the college as a whole.
Another UK study by Clough and Lindsay (1991) investigated the attitudes of teachers towards
integration and to different kinds of support. Their research provided some evidence that attitudes had
shifted in favour of integrating children with special educational needs over the past ten years or so.
This study also revealed that although the respondents appeared more supportive towards integration,
they varied in their views regarding the most difficult need to meet. In particular, teachers identified
children with learning difficulties and, to a greater extent, children with Emotional and Behavioral
Difficulties as the most difficult categories.
Finally, Scruggs and Mastropieri (1996) in their meta-analysis of American attitude studies, which
included 28 survey reports conducted from at least 1958 through 1995, reported that two thirds of the
teachers surveyed (10, 560 in total) agreed with the general concept of integration. A smaller majority
was willing to implement integration practices in their classes, but responses again appeared to vary
according to disabling conditions. Moreover, only one third or less of teachers believed they had
sufficient time, skills, training and resources necessary for integration.
The above studies indicated that teachers are often not prepared to meet the needs of students with
significant disabilities and that the severity of the disabling condition presented to them determines
their attitudes towards integration. This is especially insightful in view of the work of Schchumm and
Vaughn who, in a number of studies, examined how teachers (elementary through high school) plan
and make adaptations for students with learning difficulties. The results revealed that teachers were not
likely to develop individualized lesson plans (Schumm & Vaughn, 1991, 1992). In particular, teachers
at the elementary level were more likely to plan individual assignments, alternative materials, and
individualized assessments than were secondary teachers (Schumm & Vaughn, 1991) and collaborated
more with special education teachers than did secondary teachers.
Problem statement
This study was concerned with pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion. The underlying
assumption here is that professional attitudes may well act to facilitate or constrain the implementation
of inclusive education. Most studies in this field have been conducted overseas and they have tended to
focus mainly on in-service educators. The international studies reflect dearth of research on how preservice teachers perceive inclusion (Hover & Yeager: 2001; Van Reusen, Shosho & Bonker: 2000).
Most teacher training programmes especially in South Africa do not prepare pre-service teachers for a
teaching and learning environment that is inclusive and the dearth of provision for SEN in South Africa
is reflected in the absence of such modules in the general-teacher-training curriculum (Choles, 1997).
This therefore makes it critical for the need to conduct research in this field. This means that the
understanding of the nature of pre-service teacher’s attitudes remains a major challenge because of the
limited empirical research in this area. On the whole this issue has received little attention in social
studies research. Therefore this study is an exploratory study. Further most research has been done at
primary school level and this study is going to focus on high school pre-service educator’s attitudes.
The research question that the present study attempts to unravel is:
What is the nature of attitudes of pre-service educators towards inclusive education?
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Aims of research
The present research aimed at achieving the following objective:
o
To investigate pre-service educator’s attitudes towards inclusion.
Participants
The sample of the present study was drawn from the final year students registered for the Post Graduate
Certificate in Education (PGCE), B.Phys.ed) and B.A (Ed), and were full time students of the
University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. The participants were mainly English-speaking. The
sample comprised of 22 students. The table below illustrates the biographical details of the sample.
Biographical Details
Table 1 below shows the biographical details such as gender, age and home language of the preservice
Table 1
Biographical Details
Independent Variable
N=22
%=100
GENDER
Male
7
32
Female
15
68
AGE
18-24
16
73
25-29
5
23
30-34
1
5
HOME LANGUAGE
English
17 Whites
77
Isizulu
1
5
Sesotho
2
9
Sesotho Sa Lebowa
2
9
educators who had agreed to participate. The majority of the participants were female and English
speaking. Seventy three percent of the sample fell in the 18-24 year age group.
Research instrument
Questionnaires developed by Choles (1997) and Gordon (2000) was adapted and used as a measuring
instrument to record the responses of the research participants. .The adapted questionnaire was assessed
by a research psychologist to improve its validity and validity. The questionnaire included two sections.
The first section dealt with factors influencing attitudes and were designed to provide background
information.
The second section focused on pre-service educator’s attitudes towards inclusive education. An
adaptation of questionnaires used by Gordons (2000) and Choles (1997) was be made.
Research procedures for the administration of the research instrument and control of confounding
variables.
A questionnaire was designed to assess the attitudes pre-service teachers towards inclusive education.
The Director: Teacher Education at Wits University was approached to inform her of the study to be
undertaken. The research participants were asked to make themselves available for the investigation
with the researcher on a specific day and time. They were being made aware that the investigation
would be confidential and as a result it would not be necessary for them to indicate their names. Their
permission was being sought. One of the researchers was the presenter and co-ordinator of the General
& Vocational Guidance Methodology Course. The questionnaire probably took between 10-15 minutes
to complete
Results and Discussion
Attitudes towards inclusive education
Table: 2
Attitudes towards inclusive education (N22)
Percentage
Positive Attitudes
60%
Negative Attitudes
35%
Undecided
5%
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As can be seen from the above table, overall, preservice educators responded positively towards
inclusive education with regards to the inclusion of children with special needs. It should be noted that
the studies reviewed reveal both negative and positive attitudes towards inclusive education. The
present investigation confirms the findings of the studies by Davies and Green, 1999; Gordon, 2000;
Dada and Alant, 2002; Van Reusen, Shosho & Barker, 2000; Agran, Snow and Swaner, 1999 which
indicated that pre-service educators have a positive attitude towards inclusive education.
On the other hand the studies by Crawford, Almond, Tindal and Hollenbeck, (2002) indicated that the
majority of teachers shared apprehensions about the inclusion of learners with special educational
needs. The findings of the study conducted by Choles (1997) revealed that the majority of teacher
educators sampled were ambivalent towards mainstreaming.
The positive response towards inclusive education should be viewed with excitement as it appears that
inclusive education is perceived as a progressive option. This is good for South Africa as it has started
to gradually implement the practice of inclusive education. It should be noted that this was a small
scale investigation and that its results cannot be generalized to the rest of the preservice educators’
population. This result has to some extent given an indication that there seems to be some optimism
around the question of inclusive education.
Requirements for competency
Table 3 :
Requirements for competency
%=100
Need for special skills
72
No need for special skills
28
Undecided
2
Table 3 illustrates a high percentage for the need for special skills. This result confirmed a result from a
study conducted by Center and Ward (1987) in which regular educators indicated that their attitudes to
inclusive education reflected lack of confidence both in their own instructional skills or management
skills on the part of the educator. This result is understandable, teaching an inclusive classroom require
special skills. Most educators in South Africa are not trained to teach inclusive classes. This creates a
feeling of hopelessness and helplessness and as a result the concept of inclusive education for many
educators’ is anxiety provoking. In the case of the sampled group inclusive education practices were
not covered in their training even though South Africa is in the process of implementing inclusive
education.
It should be noted that the White Paper 6: Special Education: Building an inclusive education and
training system acknowledges the significance of empowering the educators. According to White Paper
6 (2001) educators cannot be expected to facilitate learning in inclusive classrooms if they are not
empowered to do so. Continued professional development is envisaged. Tertiary institutions have been
challenged to develop programmes for diversity learning and to start introducing programmes in
inclusive education. This implies that inclusive education is likely to succeed is educators receive preservice training in educating children with Special Educational Needs
Requirements for successful inclusion
Table 4 :
Requirements for successful inclusion
%=100
Need for special resources
72
No need for special resources
28
Undecided
2
Table 4 shows that the vast majority of the participants felt that there is a need for special resources.
The literature on educator’s attitudes towards inclusive education supports this view (Scruggs and
Mastropieri, 1996). In terms of the White Paper 6, inclusive education would only be introduced to
schools when human and material resources have been provided. Some primary schools would be
converted into full service schools here support services and structures and facilities would be made
available. Special schools would be converted into resource schools where severely challenged learners
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would be kept and the resource school practitioners would be expected to capacitate those who would
be in regular and full-service schools because of the expertise they already have.
Attitudes towards learners with Special Needs
Positive
Negative
Undecided
Table 5 :
Attitudes towards learners with Special Needs
%=100
77
27
16
As can be seen from the above table, preservice educators responded more positively towards learners
with Special Needs. This result is consistent with the result of the study by Thomas (1985). The
implication of this result is that the educators should be prepared to meet the needs of the learners with
disabilities. Learners with Special Needs are lovely human beings and respond more appropriately and
positively when they are loved and supported and encouraged and challenged.
Conclusion
It is clear from the preceding discussion that the sampled participants are generally positive about
inclusive education. Pre-service training in inclusive education and continued professional
development are of paramount significance if inclusive education is to be successfully implemented.
The resourcing of schools is essential if the anxieties around the implementation of inclusive education
are to be addressed. The fact that literature seem to reveal both negative and positive attitudes towards
inclusive education is indicative of the fact that a lot of work need to be done nationally and
internationally. It should be acknowledged that South Africa is one of the leading countries in the
world in terms of the implementation of inclusive education. Community mobilisation and advocacy
work are extremely needed for the South African population to be able to buy into this new concept of
inclusive education. An observation has been made that educators, learners and parents are not fully
educated about inclusive education. It seems as if there is an assumption that learners would readily
accept inclusion. Such an assumption could be dangerous since some learners might negative attitudes
towards inclusive education. A study on learner’s attitudes towards inclusive education is envisaged.
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